Artificial seed production of Pangasiid catfish in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam.

The two pangasiid catfish, Pangasius bocourti and P. hypophthalmus, are widely cultured in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. However, seed supply until recently was dependent on fry and fingerlings caught from the Mekong River. In 1994, a research programme was carried out on artificial seed production of these two species in captive conditions. In 1995, about 30,000 fingerlings were first produced in An Giang and Can Tho provinces and a proper technique of induced breeding, progressive human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) treatment, was determined. This technique, involving two steps of hCG injections, successfully induced ovulation in 66% of 67 treated females of P. bocourti. Application of this technique to other pangasiid catfish species such as P. conchophilus, P. hypophthalmus, P. mekongensis, and P. larnaudii also resulted in breeding success. Research on larval rearing has also been conducted to improve the growth and survival of pangasiid larvae. Extension of research findings of induced breeding and larval rearing has allowed mass seed production of pangasiid catfish in the Mekong Delta.